When Your Job Isn’t Your Dream

“For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.”

- Romans 8:5-6

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”

- Romans 8:28

My first job out of undergrad pushed me to a very “clock in/clock out” mentality. It was a job I could easily leave at the door when I left and not think much about until I came back. It was not unbearable per say, but it was definitely not my dream.

What about the four years of training and education I just completed? What about my plans?

My plans.

Many months I wrestled with discontentment and struggled with resentment towards friends who had landed their “dream roles.” It was exhausting. I thought I merely needed to push through this season before I got to my dream. But as I began to allow myself to feel my frustrations fully and completely, I slowly began to notice a work the Lord was doing in me.

As I was trying to cope with my circumstances, I knew I needed to re-evaluate my intentions. Did I want that dream job because I thought I deserved it more than others? That I had earned it? Was I placing
my identity in it? Was I worried about being left behind? I realized my answer was “yes” to many of those questions. Convicted with pride and jealousy, I asked the Lord to change my heart. Unable to change my situation at the time, I knew the only thing that could change was my position towards it.

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28)

His plans. According to His purpose.

“For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.” (Romans 8:5-6)

To set my mind on the Spirit is life and peace.

This is the promise that I am working with the Lord to train my heart to believe. But as I surrendered my “dream” and began to focus on listening to the Spirit, I was refreshed. I started to see the people I worked for and with, not as bothersome roadblocks to my dream, but children of God whom I had been placed beside to love and to encourage. I was put in a unique position to walk through life daily with them, able to show kindness, gentleness, and patience. This is the dream. To do the work of God, to love my neighbor as myself, and to set my mind on things of the Spirit.

I am still committed to my passions, and trust that as the Lord knows the desires of my heart, I may get to my “dream job” someday. But as I wait, I am choosing to trust the refining process of grace, allowing my wants and desires to be molded and changed. I pray we all continue to open ourselves up to the places God puts us, living ever fully into the now, and trusting Him with our future.

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Anna Ortmann is a recent graduate of Indiana Wesleyan University. She is currently working as a Worship Arts Resident at Northview Church, as well as in a local coffee shop.